Credit Card Scam Warning

I received this via email from an NPT reader and include it here as a warning about a credit card scam that seems to be getting more and more prevalent. I can confirm that these do exist, as a friend of mine was on the wrong end of such a call about 6 months ago.

Fortunately, she didn’t give out her information and did call the police.

This has been confirmed as legitimate so please take note this details are directly from the person this happened to at KCC.

This one is pretty slick since they provide Y O U with all the information, except the one piece they want. Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you’ll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from ‘VISA’, and I was called on Thursday from ‘MasterCard’.

The scam works like this: Person calling says, ‘This is (name), and I’m calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I’m calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank) did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for #497.99 from a Marketing company based in London?’ When you say ‘No’, the caller continues with, ‘Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from #297 to #497, just under the #500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?’

You say ‘yes’. The caller continues - ‘I will be starting a fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 0800 number listed on the back of your card (0800-VISA) and ask for Security.

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. ‘Do you need me to read it again?’

Here’s the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works the caller then says, ‘I need to verify you are in possession of your card.’ He’ll ask you to ‘turn your card over and look for some numbers.’ There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he’ll say, ‘That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?’ After you say, ‘No,’ the caller then thanks you and states, ‘Don’t hesitate to call back if you do’, and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of #497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don’t give it to them. Instead, tell them you’ll call VISA or MasterCard directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you’re receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you’ll see charges for purchases you didn’t make, and by then it’s almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a ‘Jason Richardson of MasterCard’ with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn’t let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.

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Comments

8 Responses to “Credit Card Scam Warning”

Crediteria.com Colin on December 18th, 2007 20:57 pm I haven’t personally had this happen however I have had friends that fall for the ebay/paypal/bank scams where they create a landing page that appears like the merchant site. Luckily I was visiting when she did this and said “call the bank right now and let them know what you just did. I have written an identity theft worksheet for anybody that thinks they might be a victim of identity theft, you can have a look here: http://www.crediteria.com/CreditChat/2007/03/resources_for_protection_from.htm Notice that you don’t call the police right away, it’s important to do some damage control first by contacting the credit bureaus etc first… [Reply]

John Otis on December 19th, 2007 4:59 am I’m afraid if I say too much I WON’T have much mind left, been there and done that! Please, look at web site when you have a chance and comment, we are new and a friend did the site. Thanks John [Reply]

wally connolly on December 19th, 2007 5:55 am Hi Ros, Thank you for all your great help throughout the year, and I want to wish you a very merry and happy xmas and New Year. Yes and thanks for the credit card warning. I experienced it myself. Thanks Ros, wally [Reply]

Susan on December 19th, 2007 11:41 am Merry Christmas Ros, Your postings are always worth reading and this 1 is no exception. In fact, for my last tip for this year I also included information about on and off line scams and pointed back to this post. Thanks for having such a great blog and I know I’ll be reading a lot of good information on it next year. Susan [Reply]

Rosemary on December 19th, 2007 16:12 pm Thanks Ros for the warning. Regarding scams I wish to alert you to the internet brand hijacking increase. Emails are being sent from China saying they have a customer who wants to register my internet brand. 3 of my health sites were targeted. Before I knew it was a scam I looked at registering related names to protect my brand but luckily I took legal advice first. This is a big scam and don’t respond. Following is some information especially the comments at the bottom relate specifically to this scam. http://www.e-consultancy.com:80/news-blog/363197/internet-brand-hijacking-on-the-rise–report.html [Reply]

Rosemary on December 20th, 2007 1:40 am Oops - the above link doesn’t seem to be working. Try the following:- http://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/363197/internet-brand-hijacking-on-the-rise–report.html If their 404 page comes up instead search for - internet brand hijacking. Worth the effort to find out how this scam operates. It has been costing people money by consulting their attorneys. Thanks Ros for an excellent blog. Have a great Christmas. Regards Rosemary [Reply]

Martha Woodruff on December 26th, 2007 11:14 am Rosalind, thank you for your article of 12/19/07 on the Visa/Maser Card Scam. I receive calls from Visa and Master Card scammers all the time telling me this and that, but I don’t listen to them very long, I just hang up. You can tell they are reading their info from a script because they keep repeating the word OKAY like a pariot. It really annoys me, not to mention they have their nerve. I never at any time give them any numbers, I never let them get that far. What I am wondering is how is all this scam nonsense going to stop altogether? Whatever I can do I do it, but it doesn’t seem to be enough — the calls still keep coming. Thank you again for your info. Martha Woodruff — Seattle, WA [Reply]

Gamy Rachel on December 30th, 2007 6:02 am Thank you for sharing. This is certainly very useful information in this high- tech arena these days. warmly Gamy [Reply]

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